Tornado outbreak of June 8-11, 2020
As a powerful shortwave trough dropped into the northern United States and move east-southeast, the stage was being set for a multi-day tornado outbreak in the upper Midwest. The Storm Prediction Center had every day on its 4-8 outlook marked for severe weather on June 5. June 8 featured high instability and good shear, but a cap that didn't erode until mid afternoon. The SPC had an enhanced risk with a 10% hatched tornado risk in place for much of central and east North Dakota and South Dakota, with a 5% risk extending into northern Nebraska. 24 tornadoes touched down that day, including one EF4. The most prolific day of the outbreak took place on June 9. A strong surface low was located near the North Dakota/Minnesota border, with a cold front draping down through west MN into northern IA. A warm front in central/north MN was also expected to be a focus for tornadic activity later that day. 0-1 km helicity was in the 300-500 m2/s2 range and MLCAPE exceeded 4,000 j/kg in some spots. The SPC issued a moderate risk with a 15% hatched tornado risk for much of central and southern MN, which was eventually upgraded to a high risk at the 2000z outlook. A PDS tornado watch was issued and several long-tracked, intense supercells developed spawning 54 tornadoes, including 8 EF4's. After dark, storms congealed into an MCS, and a few QLCS tornadoes occurred. By morning, the MCS had weakened, and rapid destabilization occurred in north Illinois and southern Wisconsin. The surface low had moved southeast quite a bit, now positioned in northeast Iowa. Again, a moderate risk was issued with a 15% hatched tornado risk. 31 tornadoes touched down, including two EF4's, one of which had a path length of about 91 miles. Activity became sloppy and another MCS formed that evening, but it weakened before dawn on June 11. Another moderate risk was issued that day. The surface low was located in extreme southwest Michigan, and the whole warm sector was primed for supercells and tornadoes. 32 tornadoes touched down, including two long-tracked EF4's. Some areas hit in the April 23, 2018 Ohio Tornado Outbreak were hit again in this outbreak. 41 people died in the outbreak, and it left $1.66 billion in damages. 141 tornadoes were confirmed over the four day span, 13 of which were violent, making it one of the most active periods of tornadic activity. Only five days in recorded history had more violent tornadoes than June 9th. Tornado Statistics '' {| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 0 0.5em 1em;float:right;" |+'''Outbreak Death Toll |- !State !Total |- | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |Minnesota | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |'23' |- | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |Illinois | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |'8' |- | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |Indiana | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |'5' |- | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |Iowa | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |'2' |- | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |Ohio | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |'2' |- | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |Michigan | rowspan="1" bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |'1' |- | bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |Totals | bgcolor="#e6e9ff" |'41' |- List of Confirmed Tornadoes {| class="wikitable toccolours collapsible" width="100%" ! colspan="6" |List of confirmed tornadoes - June 8, 2018 |- |' EF# || Location || County || Time of Origin (UTC) || Path length || Damage |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:center;" |'North Dakota' |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'S of Napoleon' |Logan |2147 |7.2 mi |Stovepipe tornado with a maximum width of 400 yards remained in mainly open areas. A farm home was severely damaged, however, and one person was injured. Formed near the triple point in central North Dakota. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'SW of Streeter to Medina' |Stutsman |2208 |18.97 mi |Wedge tornado remained in mainly rural areas as it moved north-northeast, doing minimal damage to crops and downing power lines. Spawned by a supercell along the warm front. Likely would've been rated higher if it impacted major structures. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'E of Fort Yates' |Emmons |2213 |4 mi |Weak tornado remained in open fields. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF3 |'Jamestown' |Stutsman |2249 |2.89 mi |Intense yet relatively short-lived tornado that formed along the warm front in east central North Dakota. Several homes and businesses were destroyed on the south side of town at mid-range EF3 strength, many with only interior walls left standing. 39 people were injured, 2 critically. It was the first EF3 or stronger tornado in the state of North Dakota since 2016. It cost an estimated $10 million. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'Linton area' |Emmons |2316 |3.55 mi |A few mobile homes were damaged south of Linton and trees were downed. Spawned by the same supercell that produced the tornado east of Fort Yates. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'N of Guyson' |Logan |2333 |8.11 mi |Weak tornado remained in open fields. Two outbuildings were destroyed and a farm was damaged. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'N of Guyson' |Logan |2338 |1 mi |Satellite tornado observed by chasers to the previous event. Produced no damaged. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'SW of Jud' (1st tornado) |LaMoure |0028 |5 mi |Produced no known damage. Spawned by the Guyson supercell. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'SW of Jud' (2nd tornado) |LaMoure |0032 |.8 mi |Occured simultaneously with the previous tornado. Three outbuildings sustained minor damage and telephone poles were downed before the tornado abruptly dissipated. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'W of Daily' |Barnes |0112 |9.5 mi |Dozens of trees were denuded and snapped in the area. A pick-up truck was rolled six times and a poorly constructed home was completely destroyed. |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:center;" |'South Dakota' |- | bgcolor="# " | EF4 |'ENE of Java to SE of Hillsview' |Walworth, Edmunds, McPherson |2221 |14.6 mi |Large and violent tornado. Caused severe ground scouring as it passed north of Bowdle. Two farmsteads were completely swept away and a well-constructed home was flattened. Large farm equiptment was thrown over 200 yards and crushed beyond recognition. An isolated grove of trees was severely debarked, as well. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF3 |'ENE of Hillsview to E of Long Lake' |McPherson |2258 |25.12 mi |Touched down soon after the Java to Hillsview EF4 lifted. Remained in open farmland for much of its lifetime, however a tractor was thrown over 250 yards and crushed. Several outbuildings were completely destroyed and grain bins were toppled and crushed. An irrigation pivot was also severely mangled. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'WSW of Agar to SSE of Seneca' |Sully, Potter, Faulk |2312 |37.35 mi |Long-tracked tornado that was on the ground for nearly an hour and a half. It began in rural areas outside of Agar, and proceeded into the small town. Almost every building in Agar sustained some level of damage, the worst of which was rated EF2. The tornado didn't damage any other structures after hitting Agar, and continued in open fields until dissipating south of Seneca. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'W of Fort Thompson' |Lyman |2320 |1 mi |Brief tornado confirmed by chasers. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'E of Winner' |Tripp |2345 |2.51 mi |A patch of shrubs and an outbuilding sustained minor damage. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'ENE of Winner' |Tripp |2349 |3 mi |Began as the previous tornado was dissipating. Did no known damage. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'Aberdeen' |Brown |2359 |10.39 mi |Tornado began in fields southwest of Aberdeen and proceeded north-northeast. As it neared the west side of the city, a PDS tornado warning was issued. Several homes in the Derian Subdivision were severely damaged at high-end EF2 strength. To the northeast, numerous other homes sustained EF2 damage on the southwest side of Aberdeen. It crossed Route 12 and threw a parked car one block, as well as heavily damaging Lincoln Elementary School. Many more businesses and homes took damage on the northwest side of town before the tornado returned to rural areas north of the city, where the roof of the Odde Ice Arena caved in. It dissipated west of the Devian Villa Development, injuring 103 people and leaving $100 million in damages. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'W of Stickney ' |Aurora |0018 |6.12 mi |Long-lived, large, nearly stationary wedge tornado. Began and immediately inflicted EF2 damaged to a farm home and several outbuildings. Turned north and passed very close to another farm house and did EF1 damage to it. At that point it stopped moving and grew to almost 1.5 miles wide, before looping around and denuding trees and destroying outbuildings just west of Stickney. 1 person was injured. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'ESE of Seneca' |Faulk |0050 |7.23 mi |Began shortly after the Agar EF2 lifted. A small farm was damaged and a car was pushed off of Route 212. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'W of St. Lawrence' |Hand |0144 |4.4 mi |A church and three homes were damaged as the tornado passed over Route 14 between Miller and St. Lawrence. The roof of the church was thrown about 200 yards to the northeast in a field. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'Kampeska' |Codington |0251 |12.4 mi |A few double wide homes sustained roof and garage damage in Kampeska. Several more homes were damaged on the west side of Lake Kampeksa, and three people were injured. Telephone poles were downed, as well. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'N of Lake Kampeska' |Tripp |0335 |1.68 mi |Outbuildings were damaged and several trees were downed. Formed as the Kampeska tornado dissipated. |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:center;" |'Nebraska' |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'Bassett area' |Rock |0134 |5.88 mi |Slow-moving, large, high-end EF2 tornado that did significant damage to the southern half of Bassett. Several homes lost their rooves and some had only a few walls remaining. 28 people were injured. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'N of Atkinson' |Holt |0217 |0.2 mi |Local sherif reported a tornado. Produced no known damage other than to crops. |- June 8 Event {| class="wikitable toccolours collapsible" width="100%" ! colspan="6" |List of confirmed tornadoes - June 9, 2018 |- |''' '''EF# || Location || County || Time of Origin (UTC) || Path length || Damage |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:center;" |'Minnesota' |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'E of Forada' |Douglas |1837 |1.34 mi |Short-lived tornado confirmed by law enforcement. A few trees were downed, but damage was otherwise minimal. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF3 |'S of Danvers to Benson to Swift Falls' |Swift |1909 |18 mi |'1 death' - this EF3 tornado began south of Danvers in rural areas. It quickly grew to a large wedge tornado and completely destroyed a farm house and outbuildings near it. Trees were slightly debarked as it crossed the Chippewa River and neared Benson. It entered the southern part of Benson where several homes were left with only interior walls standing, and grain bins were toppled. Two homes on 10th street were nearly flattened, and one person was killed there. A few businesses on Route 12 sustained significant damage, and a farming plant east-northeast of town was heavily damaged. It continued northeast through rural areas until dissipating near Swift Falls. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'E of Cormorant' |Otter Tail, Becker |1918 |9.3 mi |This high-end EF1 tornado formed near the triple point. It inflicted severe roof damage to homes as it moved north-northeast and crossed Pelican Lake. Numerous trees were uprooted as well. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'W of Fulda to S of Westbrook' |Murray, Cottonwood |1933 |13.77 mi |EF2 tornado that damaged or destroyed several farms and outbuildings early in the track. A large, well-built home on Route 59 had an exterior wall demolished. The tornado became a multi-vortex wedge and did minor damage to a few other outbuildings, as well as downing and snapping power lines and trees, before lifting south of Westbrook. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'SSE of Milroy' |Redwood |1954 |1.9 mi |Short-lived tornado did limited damage in open areas. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF4 |'Cottonwood to Wood Lake to N of Olivia' |Lyon, Yellow Medicine, Renville, Kandiyohi |2003 |40.72 mi |'4 deaths' - violent, high-end EF4, large stovepipe tornado. The tornado touched down in eastern Cottonwood and rapidly intensified to high-end EF2 strength, severely damaging several homes and denuding and uprooting trees. Two farm in complexes northeast of town were also heavily damaged. It continued northeast and entered Wood Lake. Two well-constructed homes were completely leveled with debris pushed off their foundations, and several other homes sustained EF3 damage. Parts of the roof from St. John's Lutheran Church were found 15 miles northeast in a field. Slight wind-rowing of debris was noted northeast of town, where trees were also debeaked. No significant structures were damaged for quite some time as the tornado continued northeast towards Renville. There, the worst damage occurred. A dozen homes were swept away on the southwest side of town, although they were found to have nailed rather than bolted to their foundations. Cars were thrown up to 350 yards and wrapped around debarked trees. A large home was partially swept away on 3rd Street SE. A large industrial complex northeast of town was narrowly missed. Eventually the tornado crossed Route 71 and dissipated north of Olivia. It was on the ground for just over 1 hour and 20 minutes. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'SSW of Brooten' |Pope |2007 |0.66 mi |Brief tornado spawned by the Danvers supercell. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'Gracelock area' |Chippewa |2019 |4.08 mi |Trees were downed and a home sustained minor roof damage. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF3 |'SSE of Seaforth to NNE of Franklin' |Redwood, Renville |2020 |24.14 mi |A supercell that was developing south of the Milroy supercell eventually cut it off and went on to produce this EF3 tornado. A few homes were damaged or destroyed in eastern Redwood County and outbuildings were swept away. It missed Redwood Falls just to the south and east continuing to do EF2 to occasional EF3 damage. Hardwood trees were debarked as it approached Morton from the southwest. 80% of the town sustained some sort of damage. The worst was rated EF3, as poorly constructed homes were totally leveled and others had only interior walls remaining. Large grain bins were toppled and crushed, with one being pushed over 100 yards. It eventually weakened north of Franklin in open fields. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'Grey Eagle' |Todd |2028 |3.54 mi |Several homes and businesses were severely damaged in the area. Power lines were downed or snapped. Part of a roof was found in Trace Lake. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF3 |'Pine River/Chickamaw Beach' |Cass |2035 |6.98 mi |Low-end EF3 tornado did severe damage in the Pine River/Chickamaw Beach area. Hundreds of trees were snapped and the Pine River High School lost much of its roof. Several homes on the bank of Norway Lake were destroyed and several other trees were downed or snapped. 13 people were injured. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'Greenwald area' |Stearns |2037 |5.39 mi |'1 death' - weak tornado spawned by the Danvers supercell. One person was killed when a tree fell on their mobile home. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'S of Cobden to SSW of Lafayette' |Brown, Nicollet |2048 |22.94 mi |Strong wedge tornado damaged or destroyed several buildings in rural areas of Brown and Nicollet County. Several trees were uprooted or snapped as it crossed the Minnesota River. It injured one person and was spawned by the Fulda supercell. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF3 |'W of Osakis to Browerville to NE of Motley' |Douglas, Todd, Morrison, Cass |2055 |50.2 mi |Long-tracked intense tornado. Originated west of Osakis and proceeded sharply to the northeast crossing Lake Osakis. EF1 to low-end EF2 damage was noted to homes along the lake. To the northeast, farms and outbuildings were destroyed, and a few poorly anchored structures were mostly swept away. It turned a bit more to the north and reached peak intensity on the east side of Browerville. Over a dozen houses were flattened at high-end EF3 strength. Along Horseshoe Lake, trees were slightly debarked and snapped and a small boat was tossed nearly 100 yards. At this point it became heavily wrapped in rain and weakened quite a bit, doing mainly EF1 damage to trees and outbuildings. It eventually reached Motley, where high-end EF2 to EF3 damage occurred again to buildings on the western half of town. It entered Cass County and dissipated shortly afterwards. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF3 |'N of Olivia to SE of Buffalo' |Renville, Meeker, McLeod, Wright |2117 |65.12 mi |As the Renville EF4 was ending, the same supercell produced another long-tracked intense tornado. No significant structures were damaged in Renville County, but a farm was completely leveled as it passed south of Cosmos. It clipped the northwestern tip of McLeod County where severe tree damage occurred, before reentering Meeker County. Homes along the southern shore of Lake Jennie were heavily damaged or completely destroyed. To the northeast, the north side of Howard Lake took significant damage at EF2 strength. It continued to do tree damage as it passed south of Buffalo and eventually dissipated 2 hours and 10 minutes after touching down. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'NE of Rice' |Benton, Morrison |2135 |10.32 mi |Weak tornado lightly damaged a few homes and knocked branches off trees. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'SE of Lafayette' |Nicollet |2136 |5.67 mi |Trees were downed and a farm was damaged. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF4 |'New Auburn' |Sibley, McLeod |2150 |17.43 mi |'1 death' - violent tornado began south of Fernando. Farms, outbuildings, and a few homes were damaged or destroyed as it moved northeast towards New Auburn. A tornado emergency was issued as it approached. Southwest of town, a poorly anchored home was completely swept from its foundation. The southern half off he small town took a direct hit at high-end EF3 to low-end EF4 strength. Trees were debarked and snapped and homes were flattened. Debris from a home on the west shore of High Island Lake was pushed 50 yards off its foundation and into the lake. Past the lake, the tornado gradually weakened and dissipated. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'N of Gilman to WNW of Mora' |Benton, Mille Lacs, Kanabec |2151 |28.83 mi | |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:center;" |'Iowa' |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'N of Royal' |Clay |2018 |2.1 mi |An outbuilding sustained moderate damage. This was the first of several tornadoes spawned by a long-tracked supercell that moved through north Iowa and southern Minnesota. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF4 |'Spencer' |Clay |2029 |11.68 mi |'2 deaths' - violent, devastating tornado with estimated wind speeds of 180 mph that moved through Spencer. It began shortly after the previous tornado ended in fields southwest of Spencer. Chasers noted that it became visibly violent as it approached the city. The now violent stovepipe was doing moderate ground scouring and a tornado emergency was issued for Spencer. It entered the southwest side of the city, debarking trees and leveling a well built home, where an EF4 rating was applied. Continuing northeast, EF3 damage was noted to several homes just south of the town center. Trees were snapped and debarked. An SUV was thrown 350 yards and landed in a nearby parking lot. A few buildings at an industrial complex sustained EF4 damage, being mostly destroyed with only a pile of debris left behind. It reentered rural areas and swept away a farm before dissipating in northeast Clay County. It cost an estimated $85 million in damages. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'NE of Spencer to WNW of Graettinger' |Clay, Palo Alto, Emmet |2056 |8.71 mi |Began shortly after the Spencer EF4 ended. Cone tornado remained in mainly rural areas but snapped a few trees, damaged some farm homes, and destroyed several outbuildings. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF0 |'NE of Graettinger' |Emmet |2119 |3.25 mi |Weak tornado remained in open fields and did no damage. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'W of Ringsted to SW of Swea City' |Emmet, Kossuth |2122 |11.43 mi |A farming complex and several outbuildings were destroyed. Preceded an EF4 that did significant damage in the Swea City area. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF4 |'Swea City area' |Kossuth |2153 |4 mi |Short lived yet violent tornado that formed as the previous tornado dissipated. 80% of town was damaged, 50% being destroyed. The most severe damage was rated EF4 with estimated winds of 170 mph, as three homes were flattened. A small vehicle was picked up and thrown over the rooves of three homes before smashing into another. 42 people were injured. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF2 |'SE of Swea City' |Kossuth |2156 |7.08 mi |Satellite tornado to the Swea City EF4 that eventually cut it off. An outbuilding was flattened and a barn sustained significant damage. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF1 |'SW of Ledylard to SW of Rake' |Kossuth, Winnebago |2207 |14.78 mi |Stovepipe tornado didn't impact many significant structures along its path, but a barn and a shed were destroyed. |- | bgcolor="# " | EF4 |'Rake to Albert Lea (MN) to S of Byron (MN)' |Winnebago, Faribault (MN), Freeborn (MN), Mower (MN), Dodge (MN), Olmsted (MN) |2235 |73.67 mi |'11 deaths' - Very high-end EF4 wedge tornado, considered the most violent of the outbreak. Originated in extreme north Iowa near the Minnesota border as the previous tornado ended, and moved into Minnesota. EF1 to EF2 damage was produced in southeastern Fairbault County, where several outbuildings were damaged. It passed near Conger, where a similar EF4 passed through on June 17, 2010. Rapid intensification occurred west of Albert Lea, where a poorly built home was leveled, killing the occupant. It entered the west side of Albert Lea, where a relatively newly constructed subdivision of large homes sustained EF4 damage. Homes there were leveled or partially swept away. It continued northeast through heavily populated subdivisions of northern Albert Lea. Homes continued to sustain EF2 to EF4 damage. It reached peak intensity shortly before crossing I-35, as a home was completely swept away leaving only an open basement. Cycloidal ground swirls were noted in open fields of eastern Freeborn County. Few structures were damaged for quite some time after that, as it remained in fairly rural areas. Trees were debarked east of Route 218. Hayfield was hit at high-end EF3 strength, with several homes left with few interior walls standing or being flattened. It lifted south of Byron in western Olmsted County. |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:center;" |'Wisconsin' |- June 9 Event {| class="wikitable toccolours collapsible" width="100%" ! colspan="6" |List of confirmed tornadoes - June 10, 2018 |- |''' '''EF# || Location || County || Time of Origin (UTC) || Path length || Damage |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:center;" |'Wisconsin' |- | colspan="7" style="text-align:center;" |'Illinois' |- June 10 Event {| class="wikitable toccolours collapsible" width="100%" ! colspan="6" |List of confirmed tornadoes - June 11, 2018 |- |''' '''EF# || Location || County || Time of Origin (UTC) || Path length || Damage |- June 11 Event Category:Hypothetical Tornadoes Category:Hypothetical tornado outbreaks Category:Hypothetical tornado outbreak sequencies Category:Super Outbreaks Category:List of F4/EF4 tornadoes Category:Deadly Outbreaks Category:Destructive Outbreaks